Packers: Mike McCarthy future uncertain with general manager change

With the front office shakeup underway, what’s next for Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy?

The Packers’ first playoff-less season in almost a decade has triggered a number of changes at 1265 Lombardi Ave.

McCarthy is currently retooling his coaching staff after moving on from defensive coordinator Dom Capers and assistants Scott McCurley and Mike Trgovac.

But now president Mark Murphy has decided to make a change above McCarthy. According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, it was Murphy’s decision to “start the transition” at general manager, with Ted Thompson moving into a new role.

This directly affects McCarthy.

The assumption here is that when Murphy hands the keys to his new general manager, it effectively becomes their team.

Whether it’s Brian Gutekunst, Eliot Wolf, Russ Ball or an outside name, the new GM will almost certainly have the power to pick his own head coach.

That’s not to say they would want to replace McCarthy, but it’s also no certainty an in-house promotion would commit to the longtime head coach.

It would be easy to assume that if the Packers promote from within, they will lean towards keeping McCarthy. But as Aaron Nagler of PackersNews.com pointed out on Twitter, that’s no guarantee.

For the record, I think McCarthy should continue his role as head coach. He’s an excellent leader and would be hard to replace.

McCarthy has made his share of mistakes. But name a head coach that hasn’t. He’s also done a lot very well during his time in Green Bay.

As Lombardi Ave’s Evan Siegel pointed out last week, McCarthy was often short-changed by his general manager, who placed an emphasis on the future, oftentimes at the expense of the present.

But the only opinion on McCarthy that matters is that of the new general manager.

Maybe the GM will have full faith in McCarthy, want some continuity and hand him a contract extension. But that’s far from a guarantee.

After all, the team has failed to reach the Super Bowl in the past seven attempts, even with a two-time MVP running the show on offense. McCarthy has been criticized for a lack of creativity on offense, relying on Aaron Rodgers to buy time and make extraordinary plays.

Maybe that will factor into the general manager’s decision.

McCarthy has also watched his defense struggle year in year out since its last top-10 ranking in 2010. Maybe that falls on Thompson for not giving McCarthy enough talent. Maybe it’s on Capers for not getting the best out of those players.

But at some point McCarthy deserves some of the blame. If it’s on Capers, why was he kept in the building for so many years?

I believe McCarthy should remain as the head coach, and there’s a good chance he will. But with so many changes being made, his future is uncertain.

Next: Packers: 12 players that need to go this offseason

First Murphy must make the right call when shaking up the front office. Then it’s on the new general manager to make a decision on McCarthy’s future.